Breaking a Dragon
by CrazyCleaner
Summary: A group of slavers capture the Blue Dragon and try to break him so they can sell him. But his brothers aren't going to let that happen, and Zeno gets a dejavu of what happened centuries ago with Abi.


Disclaimer: First story for Yona of the Dawn. I love the character Shin-Ah and I feel like there isn't enough demand for the Dragon Warrior's power in the manga or show. This fiction will have spoilers for the show and manga. Don't read if you don't want them. I welcome feedback and as with all my disclaimers I don't own this show or its characters nor am I making a profit from this.

Synopsis: A one shot story where slavers capture the Blue Dragon and try to break him to sell him. His brothers have a very different idea and won't let that happen.

Life camping had gotten much better for the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bandits. They were able to sleep for days at a time in the woods under two tents. Eat and forage for herbs and game, and trade that to nearby villages. Since the group was taking a break, the days consisted of everyone practicing their martial and combat skills, and helping Yun prepare meals.

Today, Yona was watching Shin-Ah practicing with his sword in an open area while she stitched some patches over a torn spot on one of Zeno's shirts that had been torn. Ao was sitting nearby munching on a sunflower seed that was from a small pouch Shin-Ah kept. After Yoon had shown her the proper way to stitch a patch on, she was trying to make herself useful with that job whenever she could. The soft sound of the blackened blade slicing reminded Yona of a song she had heard, and before she realized it, she was humming softly as if in tune with the sounds of the Blue Dragon's sword. Shin-Ah turned his amber gaze to Yona, never faltering in his practise as he listened to her humming, trying top maintain the swings and thrusts with her song.

He had so much admiration for the young girl in front of him. She was strong willed, soft spoken, kind hearted, and had pulled him from the darkness of his mind and powers more than he felt she should have had to. Every time he lost control she was there to held ground him, or when he felt like he was a burden and a monster, Yona was always there to gently touch his hand or arm reminding him of how she saw him. It wasn't long before he realized he had stopped his practise and was simply watching her, a stoic look on the lower half of his face, his amber gaze burning through the holes of the mask he wore. Yona continued to hum as she stitched the last corner of the patch and looked up, surprised to see him looking at her and not moving anymore.

"Oh! Shin-Ah, you're done practising now?" He nodded an affirmative and sheathed his sword as she set aside her sewing and stretched. "I'm sorry if my humming bothered you." He shook his head thinking he should speak more and softly replied. "It was nice." Yona smiled brightly as she jumped up to stand and spread her arms out. "You seemed so focused and your practise had such a fluid sound I couldn't not hum along. But now that you're done we should go do something while waiting for the others to come back from town." The Blue Dragon tilted his head and gazed around to see what was around them using his gift for range.

"There's people. By the river that way." He pointed to the right and then looked to the left for a moment. "And town is that way. Too far to walk right now." Yona waited patiently, her smile encouraging him on as he looked further out. "Maybe…..we can go this way. There's some trees lined up that would make good targets. You can practise with your bow." The fiery haired princess gasped in excitement and quickly went to grab her bow and quiver of arrows. "Yes! I'd love to do that with you, Shin-Ah!" This brought a slight blush to his face. He knew Yona loved to practice any type of martial arts or defense or combat. But some of the dragon warriors were less than excited about the idea of her doing any sort of fighting. Unless she directly commanded it, which rarely ever happened, they tried to keep her busy with other things, and that led to her night time practice with Hak or alone. In this case, Shin-Ah wanted her to be good at her archery so he was willing to watch her practise.

As Yona gathered her things, Shin-Ah drew a quick horned mask, a bow and arrow and then a thick arrow pointing in the direction they were going. This the others would know where they were going to be. Ao had curled up asleep and Shin-Ah covered the small squirrel with a cloth patch to let her sleep. Ready to go he led Yona into the woods, headed towards the ring if trees he had seen that would make good targets lined up. He watched as she all but skipped along side of him, gripping her bow eagerly, eyes looking around the woods as they followed a semi worn path.

Coming to a clearing, Shin-Ah pulled out a small pouch with reddish powder and began drawing circles with rings around them on some trees. He stepped back occasionally to view the targets, and changed their placement in height and distance. He knew not every target was going to stand still and be the same every time she shot an arrow. Nodding in satisfaction, he motioned for Yona to begin and stayed behind her to watch as she took her time with each target. The Blue Dragon made sure to make a soft 'Mmm' noise when he wanted her to pause, mostly to adjust her gait and finger holds. He even recommended she walk around and fire so she could get better at moving and firing. Yona smiled brightly at him as she practised, excited whenever she hit a target, disappointed when she missed, but her drive never faltered. She was so focused that she almost didn't hear the faint gasp as Shin-Ah put a hand to his neck quickly.

Lowering her bow, she looked over as she saw the small feathery dart in his fingers, mouth agape as he realized what it was. "We have to go." He spoke with urgency as a dart hit Yona in the leg causing her to cry out and drop the bow. "Ouch!" Shin-Ah rushed forward and scooped her up running into the woods. When they first showed up to the area for camping, Kija and Zeno had gone exploring and found a small cave hidden by brush. All four Dragon Warriors had discussed it and decided if anything happened, they would hide the Princess there until it was safe to come out. Shin-Ah already felt heavy from the dart, Yona gasping as she tried to keep her head up, but it seemed whatever was on the dart was knocking her out. Getting to the small cave, Shin-Ah set her down, watching as she struggled to keep her eyes open, reaching out for him as she mumbled, "Shin….Ah…..wait"

He shook his head and took his fur off, covering her to keep her warm. "I have to lead them away. Don't move." Her hand fell limply as he covered the cave area with the branches and leaves, leaning on the rocks as his head swam. Shin-Ah struggled to move and staggered away from the cave back towards the area where they had been firing arrows. He went to pull his sword from his back and felt another dart strike his arm, this one he swatted out as he looked around. His vision zoomed in and out, trying to sift through the blurry leaves and trees. He saw a man come out of the trees yelling, a club raised and he swatted at him with his sword. He felt and heard it hit the club, only to be struck from behind by another club, more than one assailant now in the clearing. His mask fell off with a splatter of blood and he tried to swing wildly with the sword, his vision spinning out of control as he lost motor function. Another sharp blow to the head caused him to fall to the ground with a grunt, his hands pulled behind him but he didn't' really feel it because he was starting to lose consciousness. His hands were slipped into loops and a wooden stick was slid behind his elbows pulling his arms tight behind him and he flinched. Someone grabbed his face and he saw the change in colors, his eyes probably struggling to stay open as the person gasped. "Well now. This one is going to be worth a fair amount. Don't damage the eyes." Shin-Ah struggled one more time before the toxin on the darts took over and he sank into darkness.

Zeno ran into the campsite happily hoping to be the first to greet the miss and Blue Dragon. He had gone with Kija and Yoon to sell herbs in town while Hak and Jae-Ha had gone past town to fish and hunt for dinner. Zeno threw open his arms yelling "Zeno is back!" And paused in surprise at seeing no one around. He let his arms drop as Ao squeaked awake and sniffed for her master, chirping her dissatisfaction and leaping to jump on the Yellow Dragon's shoulder when Zeno crouched down to read the message on the ground. "That doesn't make sense. I don't feel Blue Dragon that way." Kija walked up with Yoon and set down the heavy load he had been carrying for the young jack of all trades. "What doesn't make sense? Where is the Princess?" Yoon looked down where Zeno was pointing to the message and seemed to accept that as an answer.

"They both went that way to practice the Princess's archery. What's wrong with that?" Kija suddenly took off in that direction and Zeno hurried after him yelling to Yoon. "We don't feel the Blue Dragon anywhere near here and he should be." The young pretty boy sighed and put away the herbs and money before hurrying after them. Sometimes those dragons being able to sense each other was a pain, because depending on proximity they could even sense each others pain. But if they got too far away it was harder to pinpoint what happened or where they were. Zeno had the best sense out of all of them, being able to sense their emotional distress at all times. He figured if something was genuinely wrong they would know soon.

Yoon entered a small clearing and stopped to take in everything around him. There were bulls eyes drawn on trees around the clearing with arrows in different places on them. Zeno stood in the clearing holding Shin-Ah's horned mask in his right hand, blood covering half of it. Pinched carefully in his left was a dart that was also bloody. Kija was yelling for the princess in the foliage further away, as if looking for her in a hiding spot. Zeno's eyes were hard and Yoon shuddered at the look of contained rage that was creeping onto the original yellow dragon's face.

"Yoon, what's on this dart?" Yoon stared for a moment in shock as Zeno rarely sounded so firm and together as he did right now. Unable to stop staring at the bloody mask, the young herbalist gently took the bloody dart and sniffed at it, wrinkling his nose at the bitter sweet smell. "It smells like a potent version of nadai mixed with a sedative maybe. Nothing poisonous that I can smell but it's going to cause a massive hangover or withdrawal when the person comes to. What happened?" Zeno frowned and pocketed the dart as Kija came through the leaves and branches carrying the Princess in his dragon hand, a similar dart in his left. Seemingly asleep and covered in Shin-Ah's white fur mane, the appearance of her seemed to ease some of the anger and tension between all three men. Yoon ran up to her and checked her vitals as Zeno and Kija exchanged a concerned look.

"I have something to wake her up and stop any potential withdrawal symptoms from the toxins on the dart. We need to get her back to camp." Yoon tried to squeeze the area where the dart had gone in on her arm hoping some of the toxins would come out. Kija seemed to hold her a bit closer hearing the young man talk about withdrawal even with his gaze on the bloody mask. Zeno tried to give the young white dragon a reassuring smile as he spoke. "Let's go. Green Dragon and Lightning Beast are on their way back. We will need them to rescue Blue Dragon and the Princess needs to get better." Kija nodded and followed Yoon as the young boy moved branches for the White Dragon. Zeno gripped the mask and squeezed his eyes shut praying to the heavens they could get to the Blue Dragon before it was too late.

Pain was the first thing the Blue Dragon felt when he started to come to from his poisoned sleep. His head hurt from where he had been struck with a metal ended club after he had hidden Yona, covered her in his fur and fled the opposite way. He tried to blink his eyes open and found he had been blindfolded tightly forcing his eyes closed, something that would stop others from looking in his eyes. If he could force his eyes open, even behind the blindfold he would be able to see through it. Shin-Ah focused his sight on his surroundings and tried to move, taking stock of his situation. He was laying on his side alone in a small room about the size of a walk in closet. His hands were bound in front of him at the wrists tightly, and his legs were bound together at the ankles. A metal slave collar with a large ring on the front was already bolted around his neck and the blindfold was tied so tight around his head, it was pinching the sides of his face right over the large gash that started in his hairline, running down to below his ear on the left side of his head.

It hadn't been treated at all and was still bleeding due to its depth. The feel of it made him a bit dizzy and he felt like whatever he had been drugged with was making him feel like he wanted to throw up. Yona! He seemed to panic, ignoring the pain and fear and nausea and forced his eyes open behind the blindfold, spread his vision out from his location to try and find her in case she was taken as well or to make sure she was safe. He saw that he was in a small empty house that must have been a service building of some sort because of all the small rooms. It was on the far side of town near the river wharf, other captives and slaves in groups all throughout the house in small rooms like his. Only a few were in individual small closet like cells, and they were all restrained like he was, confirming there were other special captives like himself. This must be one of those slave markets that took anyone they could get and separated them based on appearance and demand.

He looked further out, the pain spiking through his head as he continued to try and find her to the best of his abilities, but she wasn't with him in this building or close enough that he could feel or see her in the surrounding ones. He was able to look through most of the town with his vision and he didn't see a single sign of Yona. She must still be hidden, or they took her someplace different and he wasn't sure he could even look further because of the pain he was in. Shin-Ah began trying to move his hands around and loosen his bonds when the door clanked and unlocked, causing him to stop moving. His captor came in, a heavyset man with beard and hair tied up on his head with a stick swinging into his palm. Slapping it as he did made it crack on their hand making his heart beat in his ears as he was watching this large man who seemed to be trying to decide what to do.

"Who are you?" Shin-Ah's voice was hoarse and hurt from being dry, but he figured he would try to find out what he could while waiting for his brothers to come save him. He had no doubts that they would, because he would do the same for them, such was their bond. Speaking was not what the slave driver wanted to hear, however, because the man brought the rod down on Shin-Ah's arm and back as the Blue Dragon curled up to try and protect himself from the onslaught of new pain. He gritted his teeth and kept his whimpers and pained grunts to himself as the man mercilessly beat him, laughing maliciously with each swing. He wasn't hitting Shinha hard enough to break bones or cause internal bleeding, but there were going to be welts and bruises if he kept it up. It was as if he was trying to hit the joints and areas on Shin-Ah that would sting the most. Areas where the skin was thin against bone or not built up with muscle.

The Blue Dragon cringed from the hits and wished his eyes were uncovered. He was willing to suffer some short term paralysis to make the beating stop as it was going to affect his ability to move. He had been beaten and had things thrown at him as punishment in his village when they had moved to the caves. This was worse because before the villagers had no plan to kill him, and here, Shin-Ah wasn't so sure they wouldn't find him more trouble than he's worth and leave him dead when they decided to move. After a time the man grabbed the ring of the slave collar and dragged Shin Ah up roughly to a kneeled position before leaning down to talk into his captives ear. "Slaves don't speak until spoken to. But if you're so keen to talk at all, how about you tell me where that red haired rarity you were with went to?" Shin-Ah remained silent, a sense of relief knowing Princess Yona was safe and not in their clutches. He knew the other Dragon Warriors would find her in the hiding spot they had all agreed upon and coordinated. Just like he knew they would come for him as soon as they were able. He had to hold out and deal with the pain and torture until then.

His silence now angered his captor, who threw him back into the wall and kicked the Blue Dragon in the chest, causing the warrior to choke and gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. Before the man could do anything more a femanine voice with authority cut in from the hallway. "Zao! Don't be so aggressive with the special merchandise!" Shin-Ah struggled to get a breath, his blood roaring and heart beating in his ears. Whatever they were saying, he missed half the conversation, trying to feel for his brothers in arms. They weren't getting closer then they had been, and he felt their sorrow over him being missing, and the comfort they all three were trying to send to him as they felt his pain from their not so far campsite. They were going to come for him soon, he knew it.

He could hold out until they got here. The conversation seemed to he done and the captor grabbed Shin-Ah by the ring of the collar, dragging him up again as the Blue Dragon struggled not to be choked with the harsh movement. His feet were cut loose and he was pulled quickly out of the room towards the second voice in the hallway "Get him ready to be moved for purchase. Don't do anything to the eyes. They're the unique selling point for this one. But get him ready and move him to the view room."

Shin-ah struggled to keep up with where he was being dragged, but his head was throbbing badly and his joints were aching from the beating. The man dragged him down the hall into a small blacksmith style room that stunk of burnt flesh, blood and metal. There were tools and chains on the wall, a few people chained up to pillars and hooks as if waiting for special shackles or collars. There was a woman being held in a chair, her arm held firmly by slavers as a brand was pressed into her left shoulder making her scream in pain. Shin-Ah felt his dizziness get much worse at the smell of burnt flesh and his knees gave out, which made the man holding the ring if his collar lash out at the injured warrior with the stick. Yanking him around towards another chair they forced him to sit, a rope was looped through the ring on his neck and pulled to hard to the right. Shin-Ah's hands were held against the left arm of the chair by the two men who had held the woman before and the slaver with the stick pushed a knee into his chest to pin him to the chair. Unable to really move because of how he was restrained he heard and felt them rip his upper left sleeve to get the fabric out of the way, exposing the pale skin if his arm, the brand in the coals as the smith was getting it reddened. As if on instinct, Shin-Ah began to struggle and try desperately to get away from the glowing smoking iron headed towards him.

'No! Kija, Jaeha, Zeno, please hurry brothers. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don't want to be branded. I don't want to be sold!' He thought as he tried to get his hands free, struggling to get out of his captors grip. His dragon instinct began to take over and it took two extra men to hold him down, the smith pulling the brand from the coals and looked at the blindfolded young man. "Hold him steady, or I'll mess it up." As if triggering the opposite, Shin-Ah tried to bite and kick at the men holding him, almost knocking the chair over as he struggled. 'Hurry brothers!'

Zeno sat at the fire still holding the mask of the Blue Dragon, trying to carefully clean off the blood for when they found their brother and gave it back. Kija looked sullen and depressed as he poked the fire, glancing occasionally to the tent where the Princess was still sleeping. Yoon had given her an herbal remedy which put her back to sleep. He claimed it would keep her asleep for almost an entire day and night and it would prevent her from experiencing the withdrawal they all feared from the sedative in the darts and would prevent a headache when she woke up. Jaeha had come back with Hak a short while ago, and as soon as they were told what happened, the Green Dragon disappeared into the woods to let loose his anger before heading back to sit at the fire, waiting for their plan. Hak planted himself outside the tent to guard the princess, but he watched the three dragons, exchanging looks with Yoon. "So, why aren't you tracking him down right now? Isn't that something you can all sense?"

Hak didn't mean to point out the obvious, but if it had been him, he would have been headed for town to find the Princess. Zeno paused in his cleaning to look up, determined blue eyes were hard as sapphires. "Blue Dragon is not awake. He is still under the effects of whatever was on the dart. Zeno knows he is alive and White Dragon can track him best the moment he is awake, however, until he wakes up there is nothing to track." Kija seemed to be adjusting the bandages around his hand as he spoke finally. "Once we can track him we will be leaving immediately. There won't be time to grab anything. Lightening Beast, you should stay here to protect the Princess." Hak tilted his head as Yoon settled down to work on dinner while they all waited, aware the three warriors might take off at any time. "I'm surprised Shin-Ah knew there was a cave there to hide Yona. I know he can see long distances but that was pretty fast."

Jaeha paused what he was doing, which was sharpening and loading up his throwing knives. "We had scouted the area when we first got here and found that cave. It was a back up plan to keep it clear in case something happened, we could meet up there or hide the Princess there." The discussion got silent as everyone seemed to be thinking about what had happened and what to do. Like a switch being thrown, all three dragon suddenly tensed up. Kija grabbed his chest with his left hand gasping, while Zeno stood and looked towards town. Jaeha nodded and suddenly leapt into the air disappearing in that direction. Yoon looked between them all as Zeno put a hand on Kija's shoulder. "He's awake but in a lot of pain."

Hak frowned and Yoon picked his bag. "Take me with you. I can help tend his wounds when you find him." Kija now ran off as Zeno looked to the young herbalist, a soft reassuring smile on his face as he laid a hand on Yoon's shoulder. "We'll bring him back here quickly. The Princess might need you if she wakes up and we don't know what we will be facing when we get to him." Hak nodded as he made no move to stand. "Bring Shin-Ah back safely. I know he has a special place in the Princess's heart. She'll be devastated if anything happens to him" Without more then a head nod, Zeno took off after Kija and Jae Ha.

The woods seemed to have more people than before even as it was getting close to sundown. Kija found he was running past fisherman and townsfolk who were getting supplies or collecting food. Others going for a walk and merchants who had set up camps outside of the city gates, just like they did, to not overcrowd the city. He could feel the Blue Dragon in distress and Kija knew Zeno and Jaeha could also feel it and it was almost driving them to a panic. As Kija came to a small clearing that overlooked the city, he saw Jaeha crouched at the woodline, violet eyes intent on the city as if trying to find some sign or tell about where their brother was. He only glanced back at the white dragon, an angry glint in his purple eyes. "Where's Zeno?" Kija was watching the city, his right hand shaking and already much larger than a normal hand. "He's coming. I don't want to hurt innocent people because a few imbeciles decided to take our brother." Jaeha nodded and glanced back as Zeno walked calmly from the woods, an intense look in his eyes. "We will wait for it to be darker, and then we will go in and get our brother. This is not the first time the Blue Dragon has been attacked or taken for his eyes." Both young men stared at the yellow dragon in surprise as Zeno watched the city.

"In the mythic era, after King Hirryuu had passed and was buried, the dragon warriors stayed near the castle, but started trying to make a life for themselves. A group of slavers subdued and attacked the Blue Dragon of the time, named Abi, and attempted to remove the eyes to use as a weapon. The humans didn't realize our weapons are part of our blood and cannot be taken without killing the host and destroying the thing they are after." Jaeha and Kija looked away thinking as Zeno continued. "Shuten and Gueten, the original green and white dragons went to rescue him, and in the process they killed an entire village of people. I wasn't told if they had tried to hold back, but when I went to investigate, it seemed more like they had just gone in and wiped out everyone who wasn't Abi. Abi was traumatized by the event and hid himself away in Hiryuu's tomb until they all left the castle for good. He also began to cover his eyes, something he never did until then, and it was hard trying to heal his wounds as he didn't want to be touched." Kija held up his hand as if to swear and spoke clearly. "I will do everything I can to help my brother. I will be there no matter what!" Jaeha smirked as he glanced at the city again. "We'll make sure not to kill any inno-" A harsh "ba-thump" of a heartbeat seemed to reverberate in them all rendering them unable to move, Zeno cried out in pain, dropping to his knees interrupting Jaeha. His hand went to grab the upper arm on his left side and both Kija and Jaeha moved to help keep him from falling over. "Zeno!? Zeno?"

The Yellow Dragon gritted his teeth as he gripped his upper arm in pain. "Zeno will be fine. They're really hurting Blue Dragon however." Jaeha let loose a growl and turned, coiled to leap towards the city, only to have Zeno grab his leg. "No! Green Dragon we need to wait until dark." The growl continued and Jaeha swung his leg at a tree, splitting the thick trunk in a flash of green. "When I get to them they will suffer." Kija helped Zeno to sit up against a tree as Jaeha sat cross legged and glared at the city waiting. Zeno looked sadly at the two young men, so much like their ancestors. He knew if he wasn't there to stop them, they might have charged into that city until they found their comrade, who they felt as close to as their brother, and it would have been a repeat of Abi. While he didn't want the Blue Dragon to suffer as his predecessor did, they needed to be careful. All of them had been seen in the village at various times and were known by the villagers. It wouldn't do to make a daytime rescue that would cause them to have to flee. Especially with Shin-Ah and the Princess in bad shape, and needing to take the time to sell things in town and restock.

Shin-Ah's head was spinning from the pain in his arm. They had branded him the same way he had seen the woman before him. Unable to control himself, he had lashed out to try and prevent it pulling frantically like some wild animal, as if his instinct knew to fight it. When the brand hit his arm, he tried to stop himself from screaming by gritting his teeth and showing off the small pointed canines. A growl came from his throat, followed by the loudest scream he had ever produced when he couldn't hold it in anymore. Gasping for air as soon as the iron was ripped from his arm, the smith threw a splash of water and some type of powder on the brand before he was grabbed by the ring around his neck and pulled up out of the chair into the rough arms of his captor with the stick. Without preamble, he was shoved back into the small closet like room where he landed on his left side in a yelp of pain, a blinding spike of pain and white took over and he blacked out for an unknown amount of time. When he finally came to, Shin-Ah struggled to control his breathing and tried to sit up against the wall, bringing his knees up and curling into himself. He felt so alone right now. Everything felt different, and not only was Ao not there to comfort him, but he felt like his whole body was on fire. The drug had worn off while he had been blacked out, his left arm felt numb from the brand, he couldn't quite sense the other Dragon Warriors, and his head was throbbing so badly he couldn't project his vision outside of the room.

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears fall from his eyes feeling helpless, frustrated and alone. He knew the door was bolted and locked again. He was feeling sick from the sedative wearing off making him feel like he was going to throw up. Shin-Ah hadn't had anything to drink or eat since he had been taken. The cut on his head that still hadn't been tended to and the areas he had been beaten were stinging now. He had been beaten and branded and knew that he was going to be taken away and sold because of his cursed eyes. As the tears fell, Shinha cried quietly. Missing the people who had become so close to him, like the family and friends he had always wanted and had never gotten growing up as the Blue Dragon. Ao, who he found during a heavy rain, and stayed with him through thick and thin, no matter what. Kija, the white dragon who had felt such sympathy for him and called him brother before any of the others.

He had promised to show him the ways of the Dragon Warriors and supported him when they first started traveling, continuing to teach him something new every day and always willing to answer his questions. Jaeha, who at first ran from all of them, but became a solid member of their family. Even trying so hard to see his eyes that he resorted to tricks and sneak attacks of taking off the Blue Dragon mask. Shin-Ah felt he could understand Jaeha's past even though they reacted to people differently and it taught Shin-Ah a lot when it came to interacting with people. Zeno, so friendly and welcoming and accepting. He was the original yellow dragon showing no fear of Shin-Ah, his eyes or even touching him and he wanted to play all the time, giving Shinha the warmth and attention he craved. Hak, who picked on him for being weird and called him names but empathized when he needed someone to understand his quiet and shy nature. And Yona. She was the light and fire that warmed him from the cold darkness that would have consumed him. She had come to free his mind time and time again when the Blue Dragon took over and when he couldn't control his powers. She said she needed him, and he didn't want to leave her.

He took a shaky breath and looked up, trying to wipe the tears away. With shaking hands, he tried to tug the blindfold off and struggled with it, giving up after a time. His arm burned and he was restricted in his arm movement. He moved to his knees and then made himself stand, leaning on the wall and began to feel around the room. No windows, cracks or crevices. The door was solid and unmoving when he pushed and there was little to no room under door. This wasn't going to be easy at all. As he slumped back against the wall to the ground, he felt a warm presence take over, one he was familiar with. It was the Green Dragon! He was close. Which meant that…..yes! Shin-Ah struggled to get to the door and beat on it. They were close and getting closer. He felt all three of them and he needed them to know where he was. Moving to the other side of the room he banged hard on the wall that he knew to be closest to the street, despite the pain and dizziness as he tried to make as much noise as he could.

His outcry was met with the door opening quickly behind him, but it wasn't one of the dragon warriors. The man with the stick looked angry and shoved Shin-Ah into the back wall. "You stupid piece of filth! I'm going to beat you so hard you cannot walk or move and drag you onto the auction block myself!" The stick came down hard onto Shin-Ah's elbow and the dragon tried to catch the stick in his bound hands but the man shoved him up against the wall with an arm at his throat, swinging the stick into the side of his head which made the Blue Dragon drop to the ground in pain, curling up to grab his head protectively and prevent more hits. Kick after kick came into his side and the stick came down, weakening Shin-Ah so badly he started crying tears from the pain. He felt himself on the verge of mental collapse when the beating suddenly stopped, his captor cried out in surprise disappearing, replaced by a comforting familiar voice. "Shin-Ah!"

He heard Zeno's voice and felt the warm arms encircle him from his curled up position where he was trying to stay awake from his beating. He felt safe and that family bond, immediately relieving the pain and making him feel safer. "Zeno…" The Blue Dragon choked out as he tried to reach out for him, wishing for the blindfold to be off and for that comfort as he was so close to breaking emotionally. His bound hands were freed of the ropes by a knife from Jaeha and Zeno pulled the beaten young man into his lap protectively, gently removing the blindfold and causing the young Blue Dragon to blink quickly as he was able to see again. The first thing he saw was Zeno, smiling fondly at their young brother recovered. "Shin-Ah, we need to move very soon and get out of here. I know you are hurting, but Jaeha is going to get you to Kija who will carry you away from here. Just relax and close those beautiful eyes for Zeno and let us get you out of here." Jaeha nodded his agreement and watched as Shin-Ah stared at both Zeno and him trembling with a mild fear in his eyes, tears still falling as he whispered, "Ok" His amber eyes closing, his posture fighting going limp until he eventually allowed himself to be taken care of by his family.

Zeno nodded in satisfaction, the smile disappearing to a frown as he pulled the bolt on the slave collar to get it off quickly, than helped Jaeha pick him up. "He is in bad shape. Get him out of here quickly." Jaeha nodded and darted out of the small cell moving down the hallway, being gentle as he carried the unconscious Blue Dragon in his arms. At a point in the hallway, he lept through the hole he made coming in and disappeared outside to where Kija was waiting, having broken through some of the walls to release other slaves. When he saw them both, his face looked shocked at the condition of their friend as Jaeha landed in front of him. "Take him, Zeno is on his way out. We need to get him to Yoon quickly." Jaeha turned as soon as Shin-Ah was carefully in Kija's large hand. "I'll wait for you at the treeline." A short nod and the Green Dragon disappeared into the air. Kija's hand was large enough to hold Shin-Ah, and he couldn't help but look at the curled up limp form of his brother. He had a large open cut on the side of his face, bruises visible through the tears on his clothing, and worse of all, an angry blackened burned brand mark that was on his upper left arm. Kija knew it was going to scar. Not just physically, but it would always be a reminder of what he had been through. Kija looked pained, like he too was going to cry. "I will be there to help you every step of this. Just…...be ok." He hurried toward the woodline as he heard more of the building behind them coming down and being destroyed.

Yoon checked on Yona, who was sleeping soundly due to the medicine Yoon had made her drink, then moved to cover Hak with a blanket. He was waiting for all of the dragon warriors to come back. He was certain that the treatment would help Yona because he had faith in Yoon's ability as a healer and the Princess had been sleeping soundly all day. Hak had never left her side, helping to keep her temperature down and prevent her from waking up with withdrawal. His fear was what the other dragons would bring when they came back with Shin-Ah. Ao had been moving from the Princess, to Hak, to the Princess and back. Concern for her master was making it difficult to relax in general and Yoon was afraid the little furry rodent was going to pass out. He was about to try and move the squirrel back to the Princess and keep her there when he heard footsteps coming fast. A swoosh and Jaeha landed in front of the tent, his face shadowed knowing Kija and Zeno were hurrying to the tent, Shin-Ah still carried in Kija's large hand. "Yoon!" Zeno was holding one of the Blue Dragon's hands and Jaeha was already helping Yoon spread out a bedroll next to the fire as they gently laid him down. Yoon sucked in a breath at what he saw and immediately checked the brand on his upper arm before deciding to go straight to the head wound as the worst of the two. "He's in rough shape. Those bastards did a number on him" Kija nodded and Zeno sat down, still holding Shin-Ah's hand, which was gripping his own even though the Blue Dragon was unconscious. "He will be rougher when he wakes. Zeno can only hope that Miss will be awake to comfort him."

Yoon nodded as he cleaned out the head wound trying to be gentle, but there was a soft groan and the grip on Zeno's hand got tighter as Shin-Ah started to wake up. "Blue Dragon…..you should go back to sleep." Zeno spoke softly and it caused Jaeha and Kija to come over. He blinked his eyes open slowly, and none of them had ever been so happy to see those beautiful golden eyes again. Shin-Ah kept still, his head in Yoon's lap as the gash was being cleaned, but his eyes darted to each one of his brothers in a panic as if to make sure they were actually there, Kija holding his forearm, Jaeha his elbow and Zeno his hand. The Blue Dragon blinked back tears quickly before closing his eyes as he tightened his grip. "Thank you…. for coming to get me." He spoke quietly, despite the cracking in his voice and his tears. Kija rubbed the arm he was holding and reached over to gently brush away some of the tears. "Always, Shin-Ah, always."

Yoon finished cleaning out the wound and pinched it closed, applying a paste to act like a seal instead of stitching it. Shin-Ah remained still as he could, although his body seemed to be trembling, comforted by those around him as Yoon moved to check the bruising, applying salve to the worst of them. When they got to the brand, Jaeha and Kija helped sit him up against a tree. When Yoon got near his shoulder and began to move his shirt down to look at the brand, Shin-Ah started shaking worse than before, eyes squeezed shut and his head going down in shame as he remembered his frantic desperate outburst to not be branded. He felt like he didn't belong to the Princess anymore, because that brand was for people who were sold. "Hey, don't hide your face." Jaeha tilted his chin upright. "It's just a wound. Just like a stab or a cut. Don't think of it any other way." Zeno nodded agreement and moved to hug Shin-Ah from the right side, which only made him squeeze his eyes shut tighter. "I couldn't get away from it. I was useless and couldn't defend myself from those people. All I could think about was if I could hold out until you all got there or if I was going to have to….." Yoon paused his careful cleaning and looked at Kija as if to ask if he should leave, but Kija smiled fondly nodding for Yoon to continue. They were a group and they trusted each other. Shin-Ah was still shaking, eyes shut as Yoon went back to cleaning up the brand.

Kija and Jaeha exchanged a look as Zeno rested his head on the Blue Dragon's shoulder. "Shin-Ah, Zeno and your brothers are here. Say what you need to but don't dwell on this. The original Blue Dragon went through something similar and he was strong enough afterwards to spawn an entire legacy that Shin-Ah is now the carrier of. As hard as it is to believe right now this too will pass. Blue Dragon is not alone and there is no shame in anything you did or needed to do to stay alive and safe for when we found you." He nodded slowly and hissed when Yoon really cleaned out the wound. A cut or open wound would heal with a scar, maybe a super thin one when the right medicinal herbs were applied as they had a decent amount of Chensou plants left. But this brand was deep and large. Yoon doubted they could get it cleaned and wrapped and treated in a way to leave no reminder of it. His face said as much when he looked to the three Dragon Warriors.

Not to be dissuaded, Kija smiled and began telling Shin-Ah a story from his village of King Hiryuu. Zeno listened as he watched the young Blue Dragon try to relax, eyes staying closed as Yoon worked on the wound as best as he could. Jaeha listened, but his eyes were burning in wrath despite the damage they had done rescuing their comrade. Halfway through the story, Shin-Ah seemed to go slack, as if finally passing back out. Yoon took advantage of the timing to really get the wound scrubbed clean and a poultice placed over the wound, tightly bound. Once done, he motioned for them to lay him down in the tent, and the sleeping Blue Dragon was moved to the tent to rest with the Princess. Jaeha leaned on part of the same tree that Hak was leaning on, a glance at the slitted eyes that had been watching the whole thing in silence. A nod between them, Hak closed his eyes entirely and Jaeha looked into the woods to be on guard and alone with his thoughts. Zeno snuggled next to Shin-Ah, drawing the blanket over both of them as he cuddled close, knowing support was going to be needed. Kija and Yoon moved to set up their bedrolls outside the crowded tent. It was a somber bedtime, but everyone was a little happier that all seven of them were together again. They would work out the rest of it together as well.

Yona cracked her eyes open feeling a fog over her mind. She saw the roof of the small tent they had been using and it made her blink to clear her confusion. Looking to her right, she saw Shin-Ah curled up in his bed, a bandage around his head and another on his shoulder. He looked like he had been through a rough time, Zeno sitting cross legged next to him and watching them both. "Morning Missy." Zeno spoke softly. "Everyone else still sleeps. How are you feeling?" She took stock of herself and slowly moved to sit up feeling sore from sleeping so long. "I feel like I'm in a fog, but I also don't know how long I've been out. What happened?" Zeno shifted so he could sit between the two of them and gently brushed the sleeping bluenette's forehead. "Missy and Seiryuu were attacked by slavers. You were found hidden in a cave. The Dragon Warriors went to save Shin-Ah and brought him back."

Frowning, Yona thought back to what had happened to them before. She had been practising her archery, Shin-Ah taking the time to help her with her posture and finger holds of the arrows. Even encouraging her to walk and fire or turn and blindly fire at the trees. She remembered he suddenly slapped a hand to his neck and pulled a dart from it, and then she felt one on her leg. The next thing she remembered, Shin-Ah had been carrying her towards a cave in the brush, hiding her and covering her with his fur, which was now helping to cover him. He hid her, mask in hand as she felt the world spiral and go dark and that's all she could remember. "What happened to Shin-Ah?" Zeno smiled sadly and they both stopped talking as Shin-Ah stirred and rolled a little, avoiding his left side. "Blue Dragon was held by the slavers all day and into the night. They tried to break him, and did much damage. But he is strong and will come out of it ok I think. Especially when he sees Miss is ok. He was very worried about you."

Now she looked down and bit her lip, eyes looking to Shin-Ah. "How badly did they hurt him?" Yoon opened the tent flap, a bowl in each hand and offered it to the two who were awake. "Nothing I couldn't handle. He'll be good as new in a few days. You might want to eat something and go slow. You haven't eaten since before the incident so your stomach is going to be hesitant." Yona gratefully took the bowl and glanced again at the sleeping young man next to her before she took an experimental bite of the food. She had to stop herself from making it disappear, knowing she should follow Yoon's advice to eat slow. Zeno also ate slowly as if to help encourage her to do the same. As she slowly finished her meal, she kept watching Shin-Ah sleeping, as if hoping he would wake up. Yona set the bowl aside and gently brushed the hair around the cut on his head. She frowned at the injury and looked at his arm, her fingers trailing to the red markings on his cheeks. "Zeno…..will he be ok?" Zeno smiled as he took her empty bowl and stacked it with his. "Blue Dragon is strong of will and resolve. He will not break because of one day or being hurt. If Miss were to be here when he woke up, it would help a lot. At least Zeno thinks so." The Yellow Dragon stood and headed out of the tent to wash the bowls. Yona moved to sit next to Shin-Ah and continue to brush her fingers against his cheek and side of his face in a comforting gesture.

Yona closed her eyes and tried not to cry as she felt him lean his cheek into her touch. She gasped and opened her eyes to see Shin-Ah looking at her with his golden eyes. He was staring, not wanting to move his gaze from her, making sure she was really ok. "Yona…..you're alright?" Her soft purple eyes softened as she smiled and used her thumb to rub his cheek. "Yes, Shin-Ah. I am alright thanks to you. You hid me and kept me safe. I wish I could have done the same for you. How do you feel?" He nodded gently and tried to sit up as well. Yona helped him by easing his back upright and resting a hand on his forehead to keep him from getting too dizzy. Shin-Ah let out a breath and looked at her again before realizing he didn't know where his mask was, eyes darting around frantically as he tried to find it. Yona picked it up where Zeno had set it down. All the blood had been cleaned off and she handed it gently to the Blue Dragon, who held it tenderly in both hands.

"I wish you wouldn't cover your face, Shin-Ah. I love looking at your eyes." Yona spoke softly with a hint of sadness. Shin-Ah glanced at her sideways as he gripped the mask. "I'm working on it. This mask is a memento of Ao and reminds me of all the things he taught me." Yona hadn't heard him speak so much in a long time, so she let him talk. "I spent so long in the dark, with no one wanting to see my face. I've tried to get better at it but it's still hard to show my face to people. I'm scared they'll be afraid of me." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "When I thought about you being captured, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to protect you. I had to hide you, and I'm very glad you were ok." Yona smiled and took his hand speaking just for him. "I know you will always protect me. I'm glad you are ok Shin-Ah and thank you."

As if knowing they were both awake, Jaeha and Kija opened the tent flap, smiles on their faces. "Shin-Ah! Princess! You're awake!" Both Yona and Shin-Ah looked at the two friends with small smiles as Jaeha tried to see the Blue Dragon's eyes, barely catching a glimpse before he managed to get his wooden mask on. Zeno came over when he saw the commotion and Yoon started yelling from the fire about letting them rest. Sensing the feelings of comfort and camaraderie, Shin-Ah couldn't help but smile. This was home. This was where he was suppose to be. He would get through his pain, physical and emotional with the help of his brothers. And as long as Yona trusted him, he would always be there to protect her.


End file.
